Arvind Virmani: Full-time Member of NITI Aayog

• Dr. Arvind Virmani, a senior economist, was recently appointed as a full-time member of the NITI Aayog by the government.
• Dr V K Saraswat, Professor Ramesh Chand, and Dr V K Paul are the current members.

About the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog)

• It was established in 2015 to replace the Planning Commission.
• It is an Executive Body (acts as a think tank and advisory body) with the goal of continuously fostering the spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism through structured support initiatives.

NITI Aayog's membership is as follows:

• Chairperson: India's Prime Minister
• The Governing Council is made up of the Chief Ministers of all Indian states and the Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories.
• The governing council of the NITI Aayog is the premier body tasked with developing a shared vision of national priorities and strategies with the participation of the states and union territories.
• It provides a forum for inter-sectoral, inter-departmental, and federal issues to be discussed.
• Regional Councils will be established to address specific issues and possibilities that affect more than one state.
• These will be formed for a set period of time and summoned by the Prime Minister.
• These will be presided over by the NITI Aayog's Chairperson or his nominee.
• Guests of honour: The Prime Minister will appoint eminent experts and specialists with relevant domain knowledge.

Full-time organisational structure:

• Vice-Chairperson: Prime Minister as Chairperson (appointed by the Prime Minister)

Members:

• Full-time
• Part-time members on a rotational basis: Maximum of 2 members from foremost universities, leading research organizations, and other innovative organizations in an ex-officio capacity.

Ex Officio members:

• Maximum of 4 members of the Council of Ministers which is to be nominated by the Prime Minister.

Chief Executive Officer:

• The CEO will be appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure. He will be in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.

Key Initiatives and Recent Achievements:

• Aspirational Districts Scheme.
• 3 Documents: 3-year action agenda, 7-year medium-term strategy paper and 15-year vision document.
• Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP) programme in India
• Promoted Zero Budget Natural Farming.
• Promoting ‘Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati’ programme under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).
• Village Storage Scheme

Achievements of Arvind Virmani:

• He served as the Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance during the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government from 2007-09.
• He was a member of the Reserve Bank of India’s Technical Advisory Committee on Monetary Policy from February 2013 to August 2016.
• He has also served at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Washington DC.

He has written several books:

• The Sudoku of India’s Growth.
• From Unipolar To Tri polar World: Multi-polar Transition Paradox.
• Propelling India from Socialist Stagnation to Global Power.
• Accelerating Growth and Poverty Reduction – A Policy Framework for India’s Development.

Read Also: Report On Amazon Rainforest